In light of the most recent dispute between China and Japan over the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands, two Cornell University professors are available for media interviews. Allen Carlson is a professor of government and author of “Unifying China, Integrating with the World: Securing Chinese Sovereignty in the Reform Era,” and Naoki Sakai is a professor of Japanese literature and history.
Allen Carlson says:
“The current uptick in tensions between China and Japan over ownership of the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands merits close attention, as it has the potential to push Northeast Asia’s largest nations into a more conflictual relationship. In addition, if the situation there deteriorated rapidly, it is likely that the United States would be forced to become involved through its security commitments to Japan. In other words, much is on the line over what amounts to little more than a barren set of rocks set in the East China Sea.
“However, on balance, at a time when Beijing is attempting to steer China through a momentous leadership transition (heading into the 18th Party Congress later this fall), it is still quite unlikely that China’s leaders will allow the Diaoyu/Senkaku conflict to spiral out of control.”
Naoki Sakai says:
“Disputes over some small islands recently flared up between China and Japan, and between South Korea and Japan. These disputes themselves have existed for a few decades, but it is in the last decade that diplomatic relations among neighboring countries in East Asia have become tense due territorial conflicts. Until 1945, these territories were all under the sovereignty of the Japanese Empire, so there could be no disputes since neither the government of the People’s Republic of China nor the Republic of Korea existed. The disputes are colonial legacies which have been repressed rather than solved under the United States hegemony for the last six decades. To a large measure, these conflicts stem from the shift of power configuration in which the new economies – South Korea, Taiwan and China – demand more recognition in international politics.”
For interviews contact:Syl Kacapyr(607) 255-7701[email protected]
Contact Syl Kacapyr for information about Cornell's TV and radio studios.
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